In my childhood years at home the most prohibited item for the children was the diary of my father of the war years. When my brother was 18 years old, he asked my father: “What did you want when you were 18?” He replied: “I was lying wounded in the mud and dreamed of a drink of cold water.”

84-year-old Hovsep Poladyan was one of the “Nairi” primary school teachers in Tehran. 50 years ago, the school celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. In 1965 there were 1200 pupils at the school.

We need to know the language of the enemy, to know his habits, mentality. Only then we can turn to any of its rebuff with his own language. Especially it is very necessary to the military. Now, in the era of the Internet, you can create contacts and pull a lot of information from there. Most of our students are able to read and write in these languages. So, everything is done to enrich the knowledge of our officers. I am sure that if necessary they can use it to “get to say” the enemy.

Gegham Muradian, the last village council chairman of the village Buzlukh of Shahumyan district, who was also in charge of defense of northern part of the district, introduces Sedrak Hovsepian.

Lt. General Ruben Grigor Maghalyan (Magalov) is an Armenian military figure of the last period of the Soviet army. Starting his service as a cadet in Tbilisi, he completed it in Rostov-on-Don as a Lt. General and deputy commander of the North Caucasus Military District, after which he retired. After a while he was back in operation again, this time as an adviser on civil defense to the commander of the North Caucasus Military District and at the same time – Chairman of the Board of the Great Patriotic War and Civil Defense Veterans’ NGO.

On my recent trip to Yerevan, a friend of mine whose name I will not disclose at this time, organized a three day trip to Artsakh for us.
Suffering from lack of sleep, and exhaustion, I tetxed him in the middle of the night that I must cancel.
He called me early next morning to check on my condition and bid his farewells.
There are moments in your life where you sense that there was a missed opportunity, that you should have made the extra effort and “been there”. You would never be able to recreate the experience ever again. It’s as if the Gods planned it, the power and the beauty of the forests unfolding its splendor and the wilderness dictating the law of the land…where in a moment of fierce battle and sniper shots you are moved with the tenderness by nothing more than animals crossing your path.

Loak at this photo. National hero Monteh Melkonyan sleeps after Buzlukh victory. What thoughts come, looking at this photograph after 23 years?
Buzlukh victory ended infinite retreat of the Armenians, the retreat, which began many centuries ago, with the war of Vardanants, maybe even earlier.